Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I express my deep sympathy to the wife and daughters of the late Seán Doherty on his unexpected death. My thoughts at this time are with his wife Maura and his daughters Rachel, Cara, Leah and Evelyn. Members of his family are with us in the House. He died just a few weeks short of his 61st birthday, and a few weeks after he buried his mother.

I express the sympathy of both the Government and the Fianna Fáil party. Seán was a proud and faithful member of Fianna Fáil most of his life. The Ceann Comhairle, Seán and I entered the Dáil on the same day 28 years ago. He came from a family with a long tradition of public service and political involvement in his native county of Roscommon. I know he was proud of what he achieved, and that his daughter Rachel is continuing in the family tradition of serving the public.

Seán held high political office as Minister for State at the Department of Justice from 1979 to 1981, not long after he entered the House. He served as Minister for Justice from March to September 1982 and as Cathaoirleach of the Seanad from November 1989 to January 1992. He also served as a member of Roscommon County Council for a long and distinguished period.

He was a politician with much experience and was a considerable and able parliamentarian, who was well able to express his point, argue his case and fight the cause of his constituents. He served as a member of the Committee of Public Accounts with distinction and was proud of the role he played, along with other members of the House, in the inquiry into the evasion of DIRT. He was tremendously satisfied by his involvement in that and found it fulfilling work. He, like others in the House, put in a huge amount of effort at that time.

In 2001 the Oireachtas Committee on Public Enterprise and Transport established a sub-committee under his chairmanship to investigate the costs of the overrun in the Iarnród Éireann signalling contract and again he put in a huge amount of effort. That inquiry sat for 235 hours over 26 full sitting days and served a useful purpose until it was abandoned in 2002 when a High Court judgment restricted the scope of all Oireachtas inquiries. Seán distinguished himself in the chair of that committee and was proud of that work.

He was a man of considerable ability and a strong personality. I knew Seán for the better part of 30 years. He inspired loyalty in his friends and the support of his constituents. Everyone who knew him in this House would testify that his company and conversation were sought and never dull. Some of the best fun in this House and its precincts was in Seán's company. He would fight and argue his case and also knock some good fun out of public life.

After a promising career in the Garda Síochána he entered politics and enjoyed a career that had its full share of controversy and he was seldom far from the centre of events. He well articulated his take on that. Any politician who reaches a senior position is never removed from controversy. I would like to think that Seán will be remembered for his dedicated service, work and achievements as a parliamentarian rather than the controversies with which he brushed.

In later years, Seán was a man of renewed and deep religious belief. His faith was an important part of his life. He gave me lectures on that on a few occasions. Like everyone in public life Seán will be subject to the judgment of human history. What really mattered to him, however, was the divine judgment to which he has now been called. Unlike human history, that judgment is not based on a few public events but on a total knowledge that history can never have. Seán trusted that it would be a merciful judgment, and I believe he was right.

I have many fond memories, having travelled with Seán and spent the better part of three weeks in Australia with him and some other Members of this House in my earlier years. I will never forget him and the fact that he reminded me that there was another side to life that could have some entertainment, enjoyment and a bit of controversy as well. I pay tribute to Seán as a colleague and a friend for 30 years. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

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